The human skin is a highly dynamic immunological organ that integrates barrier function, tissue repair, and tumor surveillance. This module introduces advanced human in vitro model systems to dissect the complex interplay between skin cells, immune responses, and tumor development, with a particular focus on human biology, immunology, and cutaneous malignancies.

Participants will explore 2D and 3D human skin models developed from primary keratinocytes and fibroblasts to study viability, apoptosis and inflammatory signaling. Fully human 3D full-thickness skin equivalents recapitulate dermal–epidermal crosstalk and allow controlled modeling of infection, inflammation, and tissue regeneration. Disease-specific models of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis have been generated through Th1- and Th2-cytokine stimulation, enabling transcriptomic and morphological characterization of inflammatory phenotypes and therapeutic responses.

A central focus of the research group is the metabolic regulation of the human immune response. Using omics-based approaches in fully human systems, we investigate macrophage immunometabolism in non-infectious granulomatous skin inflammation. Our work has identified a linear macrophage signaling axis linking Th1-driven immune activation to metabolic reprogramming required for granuloma formation, revealing important deviations from canonical paradigms derived from animal models.

Building on this expertise, we examine the crosstalk between T-cell immunity and the tumor microenvironment in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. Metabolomic analyses of patient-derived samples demonstrate tumor-specific metabolite accumulation with direct immunosuppressive effects on T cells. To functionally model these interactions, we are developing immune-competent 3D melanoma skin models, enabling real-time optical monitoring.